The path to European digital autonomy is both necessary and ambitious — and it is not without serious obstacles. The EDAI strategy identifies key structural and behavioral challenges that must be acknowledged and addressed head-on.

1. User Resistance to Change
Challenge: Many users are deeply accustomed to global platforms and reluctant to switch due to convenience, habit, or perceived lack of alternatives.
Mitigation: Focus on gradual, pragmatic transitions; highlight tangible benefits such as privacy, control, and alignment with European values; invest in seamless onboarding experiences.

2. Economic Competitiveness
Challenge: European services often lack the economies of scale to compete on features, user base, or pricing.
Mitigation: Provide public funding, targeted tax incentives, and infrastructure support to reduce early-stage disadvantages; emphasize value-based differentiation.

3. Fragmentation Risks
Challenge: A purely European ecosystem could inadvertently lead to digital isolation or incompatibility.
Mitigation: Promote open standards, federation, and interoperability to remain part of a global, pluralistic internet while asserting European values.

4. Opposition from Global Tech Companies
Challenge: Large non-European firms will likely use lobbying, legal challenges, and aggressive market strategies to block local alternatives.
Mitigation: Build cross-sector alliances, utilize EU regulatory powers strategically, and focus on market segments where Europe has clear advantages or public support.

5. Public Perception and Framing
Challenge: The initiative could be misrepresented as protectionist, anti-innovation, or bureaucratic.
Mitigation: Frame the strategy positively — as a constructive, value-driven effort to expand user choice, foster innovation, and protect rights.

None of these challenges are insurmountable. On the contrary, acknowledging them strengthens the credibility and realism of the EDAI. These risks should not paralyze action, but guide smarter, more inclusive and resilient strategies — ultimately feeding into implementation planning [see page H].

Back to the main text of the Initiative: European Digital Autonomy Initiative